HUMAN life expectancy or longevity has always been measured by chronological age, but what is equally important is the biological or physiological age. In the past two centuries, better living standards and significant improvement in healthcare have contributed to more than doubling of human life expectancy in developed cities, resulting in a higher proportion of the elderly.

The march of age is associated with a concomitant decline in the biological heath of the individual and an increased risk of diseases of which cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) is the leading cause of mortality. The gradual increase in human life expectancy has not been accompanied by a similar increase in the healthy biological lifespan, resulting in significant decline in physiological health during the later years. Hence, to increase the period of healthy biological lifespan or healthspan, we will need to understand the mechanisms that can cause genetic cell damage and counteract the effects of cellular ageing.

Cellular ageing